Orange has announced the winners of the 10th Africa and Middle East Social Entrepreneur Prize, with startups taking home thousands in prize money.
After a round of domestic competitions in the 17 African Orange subsidiaries, during which 41 winners were identified and supported, 18 finalists were selected to enter the international competition, which took place at the virtual AfricaTech Festival.
The winner of the International Grand Prix was Tunisian Ahkili psychological assistance telephone hotline, which won EUR25,000 (US$30,000), while second place went to Malian on-demand motorbike taxi service Teliman and Liberian ed-tech platform Weeglo.
The International Women’s Prize, with a value of EUR20,000 (US$24,000), was Tunisia’s Ahmini, a digital platform to facilitate access for rural women to the Tunisian welfare and healthcare system, while the Special 10th Anniversary Prize, worth EUR10,000 (US$12,000), was won by Burkina Faso’s Toto Riibô, a service for ordering and delivery of meals.
Jury’s Favourite Prize winner was SOBATIC, another solution from Burkina Faso, which provides training and also designs IT tools for people with impaired vision.